


The Weight of Knowledge

by enigmaticblue



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: Behind the Scenes, Gen, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 20:53:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1702190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticblue/pseuds/enigmaticblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the livejournal community, fics_for_fun, Challenge #1. The prompt was “heavy books,” and the characters to be included were Angel and Wesley, and/or Buffy, Gunn, Faith, Cordelia. This one is set after “Disharmony” in AtS S2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Weight of Knowledge

Wesley picked up the stack of books, then immediately dropped them. They crashed to the floor, causing him to wince at the noise, and the probable damage. He leant against the wooden desk, clutching his side, still sore from where he’d been hit the day before.

 

He’d been healing just fine until the run-in with Harmony, Doug Sanders, and the vampire pyramid scheme. The doctor had warned him about strenuous physical activity, but Wesley didn’t like to be thought weak.

 

“Are you okay?” Angel asked, entering the office.

 

Wesley immediately straightened. “I’m fine.”

 

“Do you want me to get those for you?” Angel motioned to the books.

 

He shook his head, trying to keep any evidence of pain out of his voice. “No, that’s quite alright.”

 

“I could—”

 

“I can get them, Angel,” Wesley insisted, his tone sharper than he’d intended.

 

Angel held up his hands. “Sorry. I just wanted to help.”

 

Wesley didn’t reply, mostly because in his present state of mind, he’d say something he’d later regret. After a moment’s silence, Angel muttered, “I’ll go.”

 

Although he half-wanted to call Angel back and apologize, Wesley didn’t bother. Instead, he knelt down and began picking up the tomes one by one.

 

“You know you probably should have let Angel get those,” Gunn said from the doorway.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Which is why you dropped them.”

 

“I lost my grip.”

 

“You’re hurt.” Gunn strode forward and hauled him to his feet. “You got hurt yesterday, and you’ve been wincing every time you make a sudden move.”

 

Wesley glared at him, then sighed, knowing when he was beat. “I’ll be fine.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Gunn finished picking up the rest of the books and piled them on the desk, then closed the office door. “You want to tell me what’s eating you?”

 

“Not particularly.” Wesley had no intention of telling Gunn that he had been upset by Angel’s cavalier dismissal of his advice. He had encouraged Angel to give Cordelia time, and Angel had responded by buying her a pile of new clothes, in a poorly concealed attempt to buy back her affection.

 

“This have anything to do with Angel buying Cordy all those new clothes?”

 

“I really don’t want to talk about this, Charles.”

 

“Fine,” Gunn said, holding his hands up in surrender. “You don’t have to get all worked up.”

 

“I’m not ‘worked up!’” Wesley snapped, then immediately regretted his outburst. He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

 

Gunn let the silence hang for a moment, then observed, “Angel doesn’t know how to work at things.”

 

“What?”

 

“He’s always got enough money, and he doesn’t have to worry about the same stuff we do.” Gunn shrugged. “He’s got no patience.”

 

“What does that have to do with anything?”

 

“Cordy is too important for him to wait.”

 

“And the rest of us?” Wesley asked bitterly.

 

Gunn raised his eyebrows. “Have you seen the way Angel looks at her? He looked at me like that, I’d probably stake him.”

 

An unwilling smile broke out over Wesley’s face. “I suppose so.”

 

Gunn stood. “Let’s get out of here.”

 

Wesley frowned, waving at the books. “I should really—”

 

“Let Angel do it. He’s got nothing better to do, and I’m hungry.”

 

Wesley shrugged. “Why not? I could eat.”

 

~~~~~

 

“Where’s Wes?” Cordelia asked as she entered the hotel, catching sight of Angel behind the desk. It looked like he was brooding again.

 

“He and Gunn left.”

 

“Why?” Cordelia asked. “I thought he was going to do some research into those Gruptna demons today.”

 

“I don’t know,” Angel said. “Gunn said they were getting something to eat.”

 

Cordelia pulled a face. “And they couldn’t wait for me?”

 

Angel didn’t respond, turning the page in his book. Cordelia watched him for a minute. “You’re brooding,” she observed.

 

“I am not.”

 

“Are too.”

 

“Am not.”

 

“You are,” she said, in the tone she always used to end an argument. “I know you, Angel, and you’re brooding. What’s your problem now?”

 

“Wes is mad at me.”

 

“So?”

 

“What do you mean, ‘so?’” Angel demanded. “I thought he was over it!”

 

Cordelia put her hands on her hips. “What? Over you firing him? Over you threatening us and causing him to bust a bunch of stitches? Or maybe he’s over the fact that you never visited him in the hospital, even though you knew he’d been hurt?” She rolled her eyes to emphasize how idiotic the idea was.

 

Angel had the grace to look a little sheepish. “Oh. Yeah.”

 

Cordelia shook her head. “It’s going to take time, Angel.” She gave him a wry look. “And I don’t think a bunch of new clothes is going to help him.”

 

If vampires could blush, she was pretty sure Angel would have. “Maybe I should—”

 

“Time, Angel,” Cordelia said firmly. She reached across the desk to pick up the phone.

 

“Who are you calling?”

 

“Gunn,” she replied. “I’m hungry, too, and if they aren’t done eating yet, I could join them.”

 

Angel looked at her hopefully. “We could go out once the sun goes down.”

 

She smiled. “You don’t eat,” she pointed out. “And I’m hungry _now_.” She quickly dialed Gunn’s cell phone number. “Hey, where are you guys?”

 

“We’re in Chinatown,” he replied. “Thought we’d get somethin’ to eat. You want to join us?”

 

“I’ll be right there,” she promised. “Which restaurant?”

 

Gunn gave her the name and directions, and Cordelia hung up the phone. “I’m taking your car,” she informed him. “I’ll never get there in time otherwise.”

 

Cordelia left before he could argue anymore. While she had appreciated Angel’s gift—if only because she didn’t have the money to replace the clothing Angel had carelessly thrown out—she had missed just hanging out with Gunn and Wesley lately. They’d grown pretty close.

 

Besides, she was in the mood for Chinese.

 

~~~~~

 

Angel sighed as he watched Cordelia go, knowing that both she and Wesley were right. It was going to take time to repair the damage his actions had caused, and he’d always been more interested in fixing things immediately, rather than waiting.

 

It was funny how the silence of the hotel seemed to echo now, where only a short time before he’d sought it out. Angel had believed that his friends had made him weaker, when in reality, the opposite had been true.

 

They kept him honest, and they kept him on the right track. Angel now intimately knew how much damage he could do, even with the soul.

 

He wandered back into the office and glanced at the titles of the books stacked on the desk, then saw a piece of paper poking out of the desk drawer. Feeling a little guilty for snooping, he pulled it out and scanned the list. It didn’t take a genius for Angel to see that it was essentially Wesley’s wish list.

 

His eyes narrowing, Angel stuck the list in his pocket. Maybe it would take more time, but he could still help things along, just a little bit.


End file.
